The Australian dairy sector has been thrown into turmoil following revelations that Murray Goulburn (MG), Australia’s largest co-operative, has paid too much for its milk over the last 10 months. The overpayment is estimated at £100m, and MG is looking to claw back the money from its farmers over the next three years.

As a result, four members of the co-op’s senior management team resigned and the coop has been forced to downgrade its profit forecast by more than half.

The situation has led to concerns over the future of the Australian dairy industry with some farm lobby groups calling for an independent review – read more.

However, the latest data suggests global milk production is starting to fall as low prices impact production levels in many regions, according to a report from UK levy board AHDB Dairy.

The daily milk equivalent (calculated by adjusting milk production for seasonal differences across the world) reduced by 1.6 per cent, with production dropping across all of the five main regions. These regions are the EU, New Zealand, Australia, US and Argentina - read more.

Farm Machinery is the standard book on the current theory and practice of farm mechanisation for students and farmers. First published in 1979, this new sixth edition incorporates much new text together with 280 new colour photographs illustrating the steady flow of developments in farm mechanisation that have taken place over the past decade. Recent advances in computer technology and satellite field mapping are included and new content enriches the earlier material dealing with the working principles and operation of the vast array of the somewhat less sophisticated farm tractors and machines still in use on British farms.

Improving Profitability of Calf Milk Replacer
Milk proteins can be very expensive to include in Calf Milk Replacers (CMR) and there are significant economic advantages in replacing this expensive ingredient with alternative protein sources when raw material prices are high.